Dead stock Levi's 502 (501 zipper version) with "16" engraved on the back of the top-button. This is a dead stock product imported to Japan, but it's not glued on like normal vintage Levi's. In Japan, it seems to have been more popular to sell jeans in the condition that they had been washed once and the glue had been removed, and these jeans were also sold as having been washed once and then pre-shranked. I've never seen a 501 that was sold in one-wash at the time, and it's possible that it was sold only as 502.
At a glance, it's hard to tell if it's for Japan, but there is a sticker in Japanese on the flasher and the guarantee ticket. The fabric has already been washed.
The silhouette of BIGE is tapered slightly toward the hem.
paper patch
A relatively small stamp in the lower left hand side, "502-0117," 502 with a 16 engraving is common in this stamp."There is no notation of "Made in U.S.A" while there is notation of "100% COTTON" and "WPL 423".
flasher
The flasher of the home country printed "SHRINK-TO-FIT" cannot be used as it is because it has already been one-washed and shrunk, but the method of hiding the indication of "SHRINK-TO-FIT" by the sticker written "PRE-SHRUNK" is corrected, because the flasher was not made for Japan. The copyright notice at the bottom is "○C1966".
guarantee ticket
There is a sticker that says "Made in the USA" above the two-horse mark on the right. At the time, the fact that it was made in the United States must have been a big selling point. Both the flasher and guarantee ticket were removed and re-installed for the one-wash, and the guarantee ticket was attached directly to the pocket on the rigid deadstock, whereas on the one-wash 502, it was fastened to the flasher with a stapler. In the photo, you can't see it hidden by the flasher, but the top chronology is "FOR OVER 110 YEARS".
back pocket
Asymmetrical shape of back pocket. The arcuate stitch is also very uneven on the left and right.
red tab
Unequal "V" double-sided tabs
bar tack
There is a black bar tack above the back pocket.
top button
Made of galvanized iron. The parallel stitching on the side of the top button indicates that this is a late model of the BIG E.
zipper
SCOVILL double-pointed zippers
top button (back)
The engraving on the back of the button is "16". The stitching on the waist belt is a chain stitch.
rivet
Copper-plated iron rivets.
rivet (back)
The back of the rivet is made of aluminum.
coin pocket
The fabric of the pockets is used vertically and the opposite fabric is used horizontally. If it shrinks down more, it will probably get an inazuma-like wrinkle in the pocket.
coin pocket (back)
Single stitching, although chain stitching is commonly used in the latter half of the BIG E, only the 16-button model has a single stitch.
outseam, selvedge
As you can see in the photo, there is an unevenness in the width of the ears.
outseam
The outseam stitching is a single stitch, just like the other BIG E's.
fabric
Even though it's a big E, you can still feel the slab feeling. Due to the one-wash treatment, the fluffiness is relatively strong. It has a strong blue tinge, but you can still feel the depth of the indigo color.
| size | waist |
seat | front rise | back rise | thigh | inseam | opening | total length |
| W27/L32 | 25.5 | 38 | 10.5 | 13.5 | 10.5 | 30 | 7.5 | 40 |